March 5, 2008
Stanislaus County scrambles to find jail money
Counties that agree to having the state build a "re-entry facility" in the county or help the state with mental health and crisis care for state parolees and ex-offenders will be given preference for jail construction money, Hill Thomas said. The re-entry facility concept initially was supported by many sheriffs around the state, Christianson said. It was to house inmates in their last year of confinement, giving them training in vocational and life skills before they were released, Christianson said.
That's better than releasing inmates with bus tickets and $200 and leaving them to cope for themselves, Christianson said. However, the concept morphed into a program operated by the Department of Corrections, with no input or control by the Sheriff's Department, Christianson said. "We shouldn't allow that to happen," he said. "I'm not going to agree to site prisons that we don't have any control over."
LINK - ModBee.com (Modesto Bee)
